The MTA announced that it would restore 21 bus lines that were cut two years ago at a cost of $18 million. But the Q74 (also called the Vleigh Place Shuttle) won't be one of them. It should be.

The Q74, which ran from the Union Turnpike subway station to Queens College, was a valuable service for Queens College students and Kew Gardens Hills residents.

The MTA doesn't have enough funds to restore the Q74, but there is an easy way to get the money for it and expand other mass transit service: put tolls on the East River bridges.

If subway riders pay $2.50 to travel from Queens to Manhattan, than so should drivers. Motorists get a free ride while paying mass transit commuters outnumber them 10 to one. Drivers will also benefit from expanded mass transit with less traffic on bridges and roads.

Our elected representatives - Councilman James Gennaro, Assemblyman Michael Simanowitz and State Senator Joe Addabbo - must press to restore the Q74 and put tolls on East River bridges to expand mass transit. Voters will hold them accountable.